It's true! And she's really lovely, currently lounging next to me as I write. Georgie has a face full of lipstick and is asking if I can get her a ladder so she can be a helper, lest you think it's quiet around here. Hildegard Ramona Guinn Anderson* was born on July 30th, after two … Continue reading Hilde Is Here
I like painting my nails. It’s sort of how I like cleaning the bathroom, a small room that can be done in an hour. I can’t handle the commitment to a daily makeup or hair routine, my clothes are a mess, but I can find a color that makes me happy, and throw it on … Continue reading My D&C, Or: I Know It Was Supposed To Be Terrible, But It Wasn’t & Here’s Why, Or: On Barbecue & Babies, Manicures & Miscarriage
It's no secret to anyone who has known me for any amount of time (or sometimes even to the nice mom I meet in the coffee shop, within about five minutes of chatting--sorry, nice person!) that I have struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life. Like many chronic illnesses, it ebbs and … Continue reading How I Cope
We live ten miles from the hospital, which in New York driving speak means anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and change to get to the hospital. I cranked up the Bach on WQXR and moaned my lowest, calmest om-iest moans. I rolled down the window and let the rain and wind hit me … Continue reading Georgie, A Birth Story: Active Labor and Gettin’ Born’d
As the end of my pregnancy with Georgie approached, I felt tremendously confident in my ideas about all-caps BIRTH--the conceptual, pluralistic, nebulous ideas about the kinds of birth experiences that should be afforded to all women. Evidence-based, empowering, unjudged. Freedom to make decisions and access resources without a shred of fear-mongering of any stripe (Your … Continue reading Georgie, A Birth Story: Early Labor
On Saturday, June 6, 2015, at 5:45 pm, we welcomed Georgette Beatrice Guinn Anderson to our little family. Georgie was 9 lbs, 2 oz, and 21 inches long. She was born with dark hair dotted with sweet little stork bites, fingernails that already needed a clipping, all wriggles and squeals. I was … Continue reading Welcome, Georgie Bea!
Read the first part of our birth story here. Read the second part of our birth story here. And then I had a baby! That’s what I felt like, anyway, after months and weeks and days and hours on hours of waiting. I was fully dilated! Here comes baby! I mean, all I had to … Continue reading Birth Story, Part III
Read the first part of our birth story here. Ah, the rain on the window, the gentle sunlight streaming in, the view of our favorite New York building fading in and out between the clouds— and a couple of monitors that no one could seem to get to work. The gorgeous view was not meant … Continue reading Birth Story, Part II
First things first: On Saturday, June 8th, at 11:04 am, in the warmest room at Beth Israel Hospital, we welcomed our daughter, Winifred Eleanor Guinn Anderson, with her wide eyes and mess of silken hair, into our arms. She weighed 8 pounds, 10.5 oz, measured 21 inches long, and had the softest skin and most … Continue reading Welcome, Winifred Eleanor! + Birth Story, Part I
For all the close calls and near misses that we’ve had in this pregnancy, not one single less-than-stellar thing that’s happened so far has been something I anticipated or feared ahead of time. Don’t get me wrong, I have PLENTY of fears, but I never for a second was afraid of placenta accreta, or getting … Continue reading The Scary Stuff
This Family Anderson 